This invention relates to the dispensation of a disinfectant or deodorant solution into the contents of a toilet flush tank. Devices of this general type are well-known and commercially available and operate on several different principles. In some, a solid water soluble disinfectant is postioned at the bottom of a flush tank where it is dissolved by the water in the flush tank. Other dispensers provide a concentrated solution, typically a disinfectant or deodorant solution, which is released periodically into the contents of the toilet flush tank. Release of the concentrated solution may be produced by a float-operated pump, pressure created by air rising in an air-entrapment chamber, external pressure reduction caused by a receding water level during the flush phase of the toilet flush-and-refill cycle or other means. Liquid has been dispensed through spouts, perforations or tubes, an example of the latter being found in U.S. Pat. No. 2,688,754 which also uses an air entrapment chamber.
This invention is an improvement to the device shown in my earlier U.S. Pat. No. 3,874,007 which disclosed an inverted air entrapment chamber supporting a vertical stem with carried a dilution vessel at its lower end. The improvement relates to the provision of an air-inflow, liquid-outflow passage in the container.
It is an object of this invention to provide a simple, inexpensively manufactured means for dispensing a concentrated solution into the contents of a toilet flush tank. According to the invention, a downwardly-open air-entrapment chamber is located in the outlet opening of the container for the concentrated solution. A tube extends upwardly from the upper end of the air entrapment chamber into the container. A plug provided with elongated grooves is snugly fit within the tube, the elongated grooves providing narrow elongated passages between the tube and the plug, these passages admitting air into the container as the water level rises in a toilet tank, and permitting dispensation of concentrated liquid as the water level falls. Preferably, the lower end of the plug is provided with a tip portion which supports a decending film of the concentrated solution, serving to delay introduction of the concentrated solution into the toilet tank water.
The invention herein may take many forms, but a preferred one is shown in the following drawings and description.